From Data Silos to Digital Unity: How WAGO and Neoception Scaled Efficiently to Meet Diverse Customer Data Requirements
Company Profile
Customer: WAGO GmbH & Co. KG
Industry: automation and connection technology
Project partner:
Simone Brinkmann-Tewes, Head of Digital Engineering Experience
Project Goal
The goal was to establish a standardized, scalable process for providing consistent, high-quality product data across all systems and customer interfaces.
A Company Committed to Innovation
WAGO GmbH & Co. KG is an internationally leading provider of electrical connection and automation solutions. With its wide range of products and variants, WAGO has been shaping the market for decades – and now faces the challenge of consistently bringing its portfolio into the digital age.
The provision of product data for partners, customers, and suppliers has become an increasingly critical factor. Different formats, systems, and requirements make this process complex and error-prone. WAGO set out to establish a unified and future-proof approach to data provisioning and identified the standardized format of the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) as an attractive opportunity. To implement efficient and scalable background processes for creating and providing AAS data, WAGO turned to Neoception.
The Challenge: Data Diversity Without Structure
As in many industrial enterprises, product-specific information at WAGO was distributed across various systems. Attributes differed between sources, customers requested data in individual formats, and there was no consistent standard to classify or exchange data efficiently.
Challenges:
- Product information was spread across multiple internal systems.
- Attribute names and values differed between data sources.
- Manual data preparation was time-consuming and error-prone.
- No unified classification standard existed to align or exchange data.
The Solution: ECLASS Mapping and the Asset Administration Shell (AAS)
Together with Neoception, WAGO developed a structured approach to capture product data from multiple source systems, classify it, and provide it through the standardized Asset Administration Shell (AAS) format. Importantly, neither Neoception nor the AAS replaced existing systems – instead, the setup combined the strengths of each system and made their value easily accessible.
The process included several key steps:
Identifying
of the source system for the respective data
Mapping
attributes to ECLASS as the classification standard
Transforming
of the data into an AAS structure or a user-specific format
Configuring
different data packages and submodels
Initially applying
the approach to a specific product class (terminal blocks) – with the potential for broader use
The result: a digital administration shell that not only unifies internal processes but also streamlines the external exchange of product data.
Measurable Results and Benefits
Implementing the scalable AAS tool brought WAGO several tangible benefits:
Cost savings:
More than €100,000 saved by avoiding the need for additional mapping tools and custom developments.
Speed:
Faster provision of product data across various formats.
Flexibility:
Adaptable structures to serve different customer requirements.
Security and stability:
A professionally managed software product instead of individual project-based solutions
This enables WAGO to lay the foundation for providing product data much more easily and quickly in the future – and to secure a long-term competitive advantage in the market.
From Project to Partnership: Working Together for Long-Term Success
The implementation was a success overall, even though temporary resource bottlenecks on WAGO’s side extended the project timeline. Nevertheless, the collaboration remained consistently positive and solution-oriented. Further extensions and integrations of additional data sources are already planned – for example, to jointly prepare for the future implementation of the Digital Product Passport.
Even though Neoception provides a highly intuitive tool, it contains a wide range of powerful features beneath the surface. Combined with the inherent complexity of the topic, this requires focused onboarding and continuous engagement with the system. By doing so, companies can unlock the full potential of the solution and benefit from its long-term scalability and flexibility.
With Neoception at its side, WAGO has successfully transitioned from complex data silos to a scalable, standardized, and future-proof data provisioning process. The Asset Administration Shell (AAS) now forms the foundation for efficiency, flexibility, and interoperability – demonstrating how structured data can truly create value for customers.
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